OpenAI Risk Report

⚖️ legal & regulatory

OpenAI has encountered significant legal challenges over the past year, with multiple lawsuits filed against the company. The company is also dealing with regulatory issues, particularly with privacy and data protection laws in Europe. Notably, OpenAI faces serious legal and financial risks due to these actions.

• Italian authorities fined OpenAI €15 million 🗓 2024-12-20 over violations of privacy regulations concerning ChatGPT.
• Five major Canadian news outlets sued OpenAI 🗓 2024-11-29 for alleged copyright infringement, potentially leading to a case worth billions.
• YouTube creators initiated a class-action lawsuit 🗓 2024-08-06 against OpenAI for using content without consent.

👥 labor & workforce

OpenAI has experienced considerable workforce reductions, reflecting significant restructuring efforts or operational challenges. The most drastic changes occurred over the past 12 months, indicating possibly inefficient management or financial distress.

• Headcount reduced by 31.61% in the last 6 months, suggesting substantial layoffs or employee departures.
• A more extensive decrease, with a 44.14% reduction in employee numbers over 12 months indicating ongoing challenges in maintaining workforce stability.

🏗️ operational & business continuity

Operational challenges have also been evident at OpenAI. The company has faced service disruptions and potential security breaches impacting its business continuity and reputation.

• A Google Cloud glitch caused a major outage 🗓 2025-06-13, affecting OpenAI services along with several other global platforms.
• OpenAI was involved in a significant security breach 🗓 2024-07-05, where internal secrets were reportedly stolen, raising concerns about data protection and business integrity.

📜 innovation & r&d

Innovation remains a strong area for OpenAI despite other challenges. They are making substantial efforts in developing and upgrading AI technologies, securing new contracts that can potentially secure financial growth.

• OpenAI launched a new iteration of its GPT technology, GPT-4.1 🗓 2025-04-23, with improvements in coding and efficiency.
• The company secured a significant contract worth $200 million with the US Defense Department 🗓 2025-06-17, indicating successful deployment of its AI capabilities in practical applications.